BIBLE LESSON

“Some of the Pharisees said, `This man ( Jesus) is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.' But others said, `How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?' And they were divided.”

— John 9:16

No one in Jerusalem had ever heard of a man born blind being healed, but when Jesus met a man born blind, He gave him physical and spiritual sight.

Despite their knowledge of the Scriptures, many Pharisees did not have spiritual sight, so they became divided over Jesus whenever He healed on the Sabbath. The Pharisees made rules on how to keep the Law of God, but many of their rules radically departed from the Law of God and made the Law of Love almost impossible to obey, especially when it came to loving God and your neighbor.

For example, according to their rules, it was legal to keep someone from dying on the Sabbath, but it violated their laws to make a person better on the Sabbath. Some Pharisees believed Jesus did not observe the Sabbath because He healed on the Sabbath and claimed to do the work of God. Because of their rules, when Jesus made someone whole on the Sabbath, they could not see Him revealing God through His healing work.

Many Pharisees showed no interest in the people Jesus healed other than to seek reasons to kill Jesus for disobeying their rules. The Pharisees knew, and the Bible teaches, that not every miracle is a sign someone is from God. But, by what Jesus taught and did, those with spiritual sight recognized Jesus was the Light of the world. Some Pharisees, such as Nicodemus, loved God and their neighbors; therefore, they praised and thanked God whenever Jesus healed anyone.